In December 2008 we circulated an alert about a USA Today
report on toxic air pollution around our nation’s schools. As we
mentioned in the alert, air pollution is linked to asthma, the primary
cause of hospitalizations for children under 15, and the biggest cause
of school absenteeism from chronic illness. In addition, air pollution
often contains cancer-causing particles.

Thankfully,
many people responded! The Center for Health, Environment, and Justice
(CHEJ) reports that at least 8,000 citizen letters that were sent to
Congress demanding action. One action government
needs to take sooner rather than later is to revise guidelines on
school siting to make sure new schools are not situated in polluted
areas. CHEJ is coordinating efforts.

Senator
Barbara Boxer, Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works
committee characterized the USA Today article as “a shocking story of
child neglect,” and stated that “If legislation is needed, I’m going to
do it immediately,” to require government monitoring of toxic chemicals
in the air around the nation’s schools.

The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has also taken note: It released a
statement acknowledging the “enormous task confronting the US EPA and
state and local agencies.” More than a year ago the EPA was mandated to
develop national school siting guidelines. Such guidelines would
ostensibly prohibit local governments from locating new schools on
contaminated land or in the path of toxic air pollution. Following the
USA Today series, the EPA finally designated its Children’s Health
Office to develop the guidelines, which were due in June 2009.

CHEJ warns that the EPA had only 5 months to collaborate with the Department of Education
and multiple other agencies involved in this enormous task. CHEJ is
asking each of us to take action to help make sure that the guidelines
are strong and comprehensive, and created in a timely way. You can
contact your school board, your representatives, or write a letter to
the editor, but please consider taking action to protect school
children from toxic air.